S.C., Ga. governors and senators work to shift port debate

If the latest comments by Georgia and South Carolina’s elected officials are any indication, perhaps it’s safe to say: The higher the office, the broader the view.

Calling the ports of Savannah and Charleston “partners, not competitors,” Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, along with U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, declared support for both Georgia and South Carolina’s ports.

The statement came a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that deepening the Savannah Port “has to happen.”

And on Tuesday, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley gave a speech to the Propeller Club in Charleston, in which she said South Carolina should stop trying to obstruct Georgia’s deepening plans.

"The governor of Georgia and I have a complete support group of, 'We are not going to sit there and fight anyone,” she told reporters after the speech.

"Our fight is not with Savannah,” she said. “When I stood here a year ago and I said I'm tired of Georgia having their way with us, it was not because we were going to stop Savannah, it was because we were going to do something."

In Wednesday’s statement, Deal called port development a regional effort.

“We see the Port of Savannah deepening as a boon to the economy of the Southeast, not just Georgia,” he said.

“That’s why we give our support to deepening the Port of Charleston. Many South Carolina exports leave the country from Savannah and many Georgia exports leave out of Charleston," said Deal. "We’re in a new day with bigger ships, and we need deeper ports. We must work together across state lines to the benefit of Georgians and South Carolinians alike.”

When forwarded a copy of the Georgia trio’s remarks and asked if he agreed with Deal’s “partners, not competitors” characterization, South Carolina’s senior U.S. Senator, Lindsey Graham, praised the cooperative spirit.

"I'm glad to see the governors of our two states working together and in Washington. We continue to work with our Georgia colleagues,” said Graham, in a statement submitted through a spokesperson Wednesday.

“We'll have honest differences at times and sometimes we'll just have to agree to disagree. But the reality is we're living in tight budgetary times and the federal government will have to provide about half of the funding to deepen harbors,” said the Republican senator.

Graham continued: “We're not going to create a system in Washington where Charleston gets funded and other ports don't. We're going to have to give everybody who is interested in deepening their port a fair shot.”

Meanwhile, even as the two state’s chief executives and U.S. senators are pushing to recast the dialogue, Palmetto State legislators are sharpening their knives.

On Monday the S.C. Savannah River Commission, which consists of state legislators and other officials, voted to mount a legal challenge against the Nov. 10 decision by the Haley-appointed board for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to grant the project a water quality permit. They have enlisted S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson to represent them.

The commission and the S.C. General Assembly have argued that Georgia’s $600 million effort to deepen the channel from 42 feet to 48 feet puts South Carolina at a competitive disadvantage and steals its potential usage of the shared Savannah River.

Still another South Carolina panel is poised to enter the dispute.

On Nov. 29, the S.C. Senate Medical Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a public meeting “for the purpose of hearing from the DHEC board regarding their recent water quality permit.”

The Georgia Ports Authority’s Savannah Harbor deepening project is intended to prepare the channel for larger vessels after the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014. More than 1,200 new and larger ships will start to replace the current fleet by the end that year, according to the S.C. State Ports Authority.

With that in mind, the Port of Charleston is undertaking its own dredging project to deepen the shipping channel from about 45 feet to 50 feet.

"I'll do everything in my power to ensure Charleston gets deepened," said Graham. "This is the top priority for South Carolina's economy in the years to come. Charleston Harbor deepening is about job creation, and failure is not an option."

A message left with U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint’s office was not returned Wednesday.